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{
    "id": 746943,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/746943/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 386,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "Nairobi, then we have a situation where we have a lot of damage to property, mould and damp in buildings and basements. It is really dangerous. This causes lowering of the water table because the amount of water that remains on the surface because of the impervious surfaces is greater than that which percolates to the ground. We have not had proper storm water drainage that lets the discharge from buildings and roads to move to the rivers and streams. As we have seen in many parts of the City like South C and South B, that water goes into people’s houses and basements, especially for those who stay on the ground floor. That water causes a lot of damage. In the particular case of Nairobi City, the drainage system needs a complete overhaul. This was designed at a time when those in the municipal council never imagined that this would be a City that holds the millions of people that it does. Many people are not aware that what has been some sort of relief in parts of the City have been the alternative drainage and sewerage systems that are owned by Kenya Railways and other old institutions. This is in Kileleshwa, Lavington and parts of Upper Hill. There is need for the prayers in this Bill to be followed. That includes all construction going forward. But looking back to what we have, there is need for a serious overhaul of those systems. A country like Kenya in the 21st Century should not suffer the vagaries of drought and food shortage because it fails to rain once or twice. There are countries across this continent that have much less rainfall in millimeters, but have been sending us food. When you talk about Egypt and Israel, it is because they have incorporated water harvesting and irrigation. Even within the urban areas, there is an imperative to use modern methods of agriculture in backyards and balconies in houses in the City, using even what we call gunny bags or gunia in Kiswahili, so that people can grow their vegetables such as tomatoes, sukumawiki, spinach and the rest using such water once it is certified for use in agriculture. Floods flows in urban environments have been investigated relatively recently, despite many centuries of flood events. This has been happening in many areas. We also need to talk about storage of that water. I remember the Budget of 2009 provided for inclusion of water harvesting infrastructure in primary schools. I am not sure that has been implemented because you find that we have structures, buildings and houses that do not even have gutters to harvest rain water. Even before it becomes surface run-off, once it gets to our roofs, this should be able to connect to tanks and water storage must be provided. I am confident that my brother the Cabinet Secretary for Water, Hon. Eugene Wamalwa, has done his part and is really trying to incorporate this. We need to have more awareness especially among private developers who are putting up structures. We see structures coming up every day. They must definitely incorporate methods of water harvesting and run-off into storm water drainage that then transfers this to our water bodies within the City. I need to emphasise that point because we have seen the health hazards that are caused by urban flooding. It is shocking that in this day and age, you can get children contracting bilharzia because of flooding on their way to school in part of those urban areas. Bilharzia is something that should be a relic of the past. Therefore, we need to be more active in prevention and mitigation of this as we move forward. When we go to the arid and semi-arid areas, I am glad to note that there has been a good increase within the last three or four years in the development of palms---"
}